Elevated Expression of Serotonin 5-HT(2A) Receptors in the Rat Ventral Tegmental Area Enhances Vulnerability to the Behavioral Effects of Cocaine.

The dopamine mesocorticoaccumbens pathway which originates in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and projects to the nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex is a circuit important in mediating the actions of psychostimulants. The function of this circuit is modulated by the actions of serotonin (5-HT) at 5-HT(2A) receptors (5-HT(2A)R) localized to the VTA. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that virally mediated overexpression of 5-HT(2A)R in the VTA would increase cocaine-evoked locomotor activity in the absence of alterations in basal locomotor activity.

Human fetal neural stem cells grafted into contusion-injured rat spinal cords improve behavior.

Grafted human neural stem cells (hNSCs) may help to alleviate functional deficits resulting from spinal cord injury by bridging gaps, replacing lost neurons or oligodendrocytes, and providing neurotrophic factors. Previously, we showed that primed hNSCs differentiated into cholinergic neurons in an intact spinal cord. In this study, we tested the fate of hNSCs transplanted into a spinal cord T10 contusion injury model.

Effect of growth factors on proliferation and phenotypic differentiation of human fetal neural stem cells.

Human fetal neural stem cells (hNSCs) can be expanded in vitro by mitogens or growth factors, such as basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), epidermal growth factor (EGF), and/or leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF). Their effects on proliferation rate and differentiation pattern of hNSCs, however, have not been fully characterized. In this study, we cultured hNSCs in seven regimens, including bFGF, EGF, and LIF, either alone or in combinations.

Region-specific generation of cholinergic neurons from fetal human neural stem cells grafted in adult rat.

Pluripotent or multipotent stem cells isolated from human embryos or adult central nervous system (CNS) may provide new neurons to ameliorate neural disorders. A major obstacle, however, is that the majority of such cells do not differentiate into neurons when grafted into non-neurogenic areas of the adult CNS. Here we report a new in vitro priming procedure that generates a nearly pure population of neurons from fetal human neural stem cells (hNSCs) transplanted into adult rat CNS.